Chapter 74
Briana fought even harder. “You didn’t care when it actually mattered, and now that you don’t have any status or say in my life, suddenly you’re all worked up,” she said, biting her lip. “Shepard. I’m telling you one last time. Let go.”
He acted like he didn’t hear her at all.
“Shepard.” With no other choice, Briana dropped into a crouch and grabbed his wrists with everything she had, trying to stop him from moving forward.
It worked. Shepard stopped and looked down at her, who crouched on the floor. He didn’t say a word. Instead, he bent down and scooped her up, carrying her in his arms.
His arms held her so firmly that she had no choice but to hook her hands around his neck to keep from slipping. She was furious. She couldn’t shake him off, no matter what she did. Out of pure irritation, she bit his shoulder.
Shepard didn’t even flinch. That was when she realized she must have bitten too softly.
“Are you a dog?” Shepard asked near her ear.
“You don’t know?” she shot back.
“I’m taking you to get checked out,” Shepard said. “If it’s not your stomach, then we’re doing a full physical. I’m not letting you go until I know you’re healthy?
He had always been the controlling type. Once he decided on something, nobody could talk him out of it.
I really hit you, Briana said. “Hard enough to draw blood.”
“Do whatever you want,” he said
“Oh, so he thinks I won’t actually do it, Briana thought. The department was right in front of them, and she was done caring about anything else
She was just about to bite him again when she heard a familiar voice nearby. “Shep? Briana?” The voice sounded confused and hesitant.
Briana froze and looked up. Richard and Isabelle were both standing there, staring at the two of them with puzzled expressions.
Weren’t these two in the middle of a divorce? Why are they glued together like this? And a princess carry? They don’t look divorced at all. They look like they’re flirting, they thought
“Uh…” Briana felt her face burn. “Dad, Mom, you’re here too? What a coincidence.” She immediately regretted speaking She should have just stayed quiet.
Richard asked, “So, you two are…?” He trailed off, unable to find a word that fit what he was seeing
Isabelle reacted faster.
- r. She tugged on Richard’s arm and said, “It fine. You two go ahead. Pretend we were never here. We’re leaving
They both figured Shepard must be trying to win his wife back he succeeded, maybe the divorce would be called off, and everyone would be happy. So they decided not to get involved.
But Briana didn’t want to go ahead. “No, no, Dad, Mom, wait, Buna called out quickly. “I’m here to
o visit Grandma.”
She scrambled out of Shepard’s arms. The second her feet touched the ground, she finally felt steady again. Without giving herself even a moment to breathe, she hurried to Isabelle’s side and grabbed her arm, terrified that Shepard might pick her
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up again.
“Mom, how’s Grandma? Is she still in the ICUP Briana asked. “What’s her condition right now?”
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Isabelle replied, “The doctors said they still need to keep monitoring her. She hasn’t completely come out of danger yet. I’ll stay at the hospital and let you know as soon as there’s any news
“Okay Mom, I’ll find some time to go to church and pray for Gudma’s safety.”
Isabelle patted her hand. That’s thoughtful of you”
“Grandma has been so good to me don’t want to see her suffer esides, this is partly my fault, Briana said, feeling guilty When she wakes up. I’ll have a proper talk with her.”
Isabelle said, “Briana, you could talk a thousand times and it wouldn’t matter as much as if you just said you weren’t going through with the divorce. That would be more effective.
Before Briana could respond, Isabelle looked at Shepard. “Shep, don’t you agree?”
In her opinion, women were easy to persuade. As long as a man was sincere, patient, and understanding, a woman’s heart could soften.
Shepard said nothing. Richard interjected, “What were you two jest doing?”
.
Nothing.” Briana said quickly. “Dad, Mom, you go ahead with your things. I should be going too. If Grandma wakes up. please let me know.”
Shepard said, “She has a stomach problem. I want to take her for a checkup, but she doesn’t want to go. Maybe you can convince her.”
Briana glared at him, annoyed at how much he kept talking. I already checked, and I’m taking medicine. It’s just ordinary gastritis
A couple of days of rest and it will be fine, Briana explained quickly. “He’s making a big deal out of nothing and insists on an endoscopy.”
Isabelle said, “Shep is just worried about you, Briana. The two of them looked like they had potential. They didn’t seem as awkward or distant as they did at the Carter residence.
“But I am fine, really,” Briana said with a smile. “Mom, take care of yourself, too. I have to get to the gallery. Bye.”
Shepard watched Briana disappear from sight. She moved quickly
Isabelle sighed. “She has been independent for so long. She likes to handle everything on her own. With her brother’s temper, expecting help was impossible. She’d be lucky if he didnt make things worse. We could have spoiled her properly after your marriage, but
Shepard felt a little dazed. The Briana who used to tell him everything and share her thoughts had, at some point, stopped sharing with him.
They said that losing the desire to share was the start of love failing. It seemed to begin after their marriage, when he had moved to the guest room for months, refusing to sleep in the same bed
Briana had complaints, but she never argued with him. She silently tidied up for him and changed the sheets. In public, she would still protect his image and always sided with him.
“Shep, Richard said, approaching Shepard. “We need to talk, just the two of us.”
“Okay,” They walked to the end of the hallway and stood by the window.
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Richard asked directly, “Have you ever been sure about who you really love?”
“I love Vivian,” Shepard replied.
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“Good” Richard said without arguing. Then tell me, what do you love about Vivian? What qualities of hers do you admire, and what traits make it impossible for you to leave her?
Shepard froze. For a couple of seconds, his mind went completely blank.
Richard said, “Don’t tell me you love Vivian just because she saved your life. Then what you feel for her is gratitude, not love.
Shep, as someone who has been through it, I can tell you, when you love someone, your eyes light up when you think about them. You just hesitated
If you ask me what I love about your mom, I could go on forever without stopping. In my eyes, she is perfect in every way.
“If I had to find a flaw, it’s that she didn’t love me enough. I love her far more than she loves me.”
After another brief pause, Shepard said, “Dad, facing someone who risked their life to save me, I couldn’t help but feel something
Richard replied, “Then what you fell in love with wasn’t Vivian herself, but the courage she showed when she saved you from the fire.”
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